Foundations of Social Studies HISTORY

HISTORY AND HISTORIANS

History vs. Prehistory

What is the difference between history and prehistory, exactly? The word “history” is related to the

word “story” and they mean practically the same thing. That is, “an account of something” or a

“narrative of events.” To be more precise, however, a history is written down. It comes from written

records collected from past times. The term “prehistory” was created to separate the period of time

before writing was invented by humans from the period of time after writing was invented by

humans. If you think about it this way, prehistory is everything that happened before there were

any written records kept and history is that period of time since people began keeping records.

Let’s think about people who study the past in an effort to tell the story of what happened. We

usually call these people historians. Historians use the records from the past as clues and evidence

when they attempt to piece together the events, causes and effects, people, and issues into a

narrative which can explain, or at least illustrate, what happened. That is what we call history.

Historians who study the period of time before there were written records however, have a very

different job. They do not have written documents such as diaries, newspapers, or sales records to

use as information. They must rely solely on the objects that people created and the effects that

people had on their environment to understand what happened. We have a specific term for these

historians: archaeologists. If the people who study history are historians, then the people who study

prehistory are archaeologists.

Archaeologists vs. Historians

The job of an archeologist is the same as that of a historian – to narrate the past – and in many ways

their work is similar. But in one way it is quite different; archeologists interpret artifacts rather than

reading documents. The artifacts of prehistory include simple things such as graves, buildings, tools,

and pottery. They can also include things which are much more difficult to see and study such as

DNA and pollen. When an archeologist “reads” these artifacts, they must interpret the meaning of

things which were created long ago, by people we no longer understand. Their job is difficult

indeed.

Historians can also use artifacts as evidence to understand the past. They have an additional, and

vital, source of information that archeologists do not. That is, they have written records. These

records come in two major types: primary sources and secondary sources. Primary means “first”

and these sources are always “first hand” evidence. They are original materials that have not been

analyzed in any way by a historian. Primary sources come from the time period that is being studied.

Research is based on primary sources. Artifacts, used by historians, are considered primary sources.

Secondary sources are information that has been written about something but is not a first-hand, or

eyewitness, account. These sources may be based on primary sources, but they include what we

might call hindsight, that is, the person who wrote them had the benefit of coming after the period

they are writing about and so they have an advantage - something like a “Monday morning

quarterback.” Secondary sources include things such as biographies, histories, textbooks,

newspaper stories and commentaries. None of these were written by people who lived during the

time that they are writing about, but they may use and interpret primary source documents from

those time periods as a basis for their work.

Periodization

Studying all of history at one time is impossible. Historians have taken history and separated it into

chunks of time that are more manageable to study. These are called “periods” and the process of

deciding where to put the dividing points is called “periodization.”

Think about your own life. We used terms like infancy, childhood, teenage years, adulthood, middle

aged, and old age when we talk about the periods of our own personal history. It seems very natural

and easy to do. But where are the divisions? When does and infant become a child? Aren’t they a

“toddler” in between? You see, it can get very complicated. Historians look for broad trends and try

to avoid breaking them up between periods. They also look for important events which might serve

as dividing points. For example, the invention of writing is used as the dividing point between the

period known as prehistory and the period known as history.

Problems in Doing History

One of the biggest problems in doing history is being fair to all the people involved in the story you a

researching, studying, or writing about. Archaeologists can make mistakes when they interpret an

artifact. They might be missing a critical artifact that they don’t even know exists. They might need

an artifact and know that it must exist, but not be able to find it. Historians may use primary sources

that lead them to the wrong conclusion. They may not be able to use all the sources available so

they have to pick only a few. They may allow some of their own feelings into their interpretation of

the sources. All of these issues become problems for historians and for those of us who read history.

How much of the story is actually true? How much of it is partly true? How much of it is simply

incomplete?

Foundations of Social Studies HISTORY

GEOLOGIC PAST

The geologic history of Earth follows the major events in Earth's past from the very beginning of the

history of the planet, long before animals or humans lived here. The geologic time scale is a system

of chronological measurements based on the study of the planet's rock layers. According to these

rocks, Earth was formed about 4.5 billion years ago from the dust and gas left over from the

formation of our sun.

Earth was initially liquid rock. Eventually, the outer layer of the planet cooled to form a solid crust.

Outgassing (loss of atmospheric gas to outer space) and volcanic activity produced our atmosphere.

Water vapor began accumulating in the atmosphere. The water vapor began to condense and,

increased by ice delivered from comets, produced the oceans.

Geologic Eras

Geologists study rock formations to understand the earth’s development. They have divided the

earth’s life into enormously long periods of time known as eras. These eras are based largely on

events that changed the earth’s crust, such as the breaking up of continents, their movements, and

the formation of mountains. As fossils of plants and animals appear in the rocks, eras can also be

based on the kinds of plants and animals that lived at the time.

Precambrian Era. The Precambrian is the earliest and longest of the geologic ages. Precambrian

time covers the vast bulk of the Earth's history. This started with the planet's creation about 4.5

billion years ago. The planet had cooled down from its original molten state. It developed a solid

crust and oceans were created from water vapor in the atmosphere. This era is marked by different

layers of sedimentary rock. It includes the fossilized remains of the very earliest plants and animals

buried when the sediments were formed. This era ended with the appearance of somewhat more

complex, multi-celled life-forms after lasting almost four billion years. It was followed by the

Paleozoic Era.

Paleozoic Era. Early in the Paleozoic era the continents were far apart, but moving tectonic plates

caused continents to move together into one large continent called Pangaea. During this time, ice

covered the northern part of Africa, which was located over the South Pole. According to fossils, a

large number of animals evolved during this time period. Invertebrates (animals without backbones)

ruled the oceans in the early and middle parts of the Paleozoic. The first vertebrates (including fish

and amphibians) began to flourish in the later Paleozoic era. Animals and plants began to populate

the land. At the end of the Paleozoic, many species in the oceans became extinct. They didn’t die all

at once. It took over 8 million years for the mass extinction to wipe out all those species. This was

the largest mass extinction of all time.

Mesozoic Era. The Mesozoic Era is marked as the beginning of land animals and plants. During this

era the first seed producing plants evolved. They moved deep into new territory away from shores

where water was plentiful. As these new plants moved inland animals followed. The dinosaurs

became the largest life forms during this era and were abundant. Some were herbivores (eating

plants) while others were carnivores (eating meat). The first mammals and birds evolved during the

Mesozoic but there were relatively few species and they were small in size. During the Mesozoic,

mammals were eaten by carnivorous dinosaurs. The Mesozoic ended as the dominant dinosaurs

died after a meteor struck the Earth and the climate of the planet cooled.

Cenozoic Era. Mammals, which had been small and few during the Mesozoic, became more diverse

and much more numerous during this period. New mammal species evolved and were able to live in

areas and eat foods that had been used by dinosaurs during the Mesozoic. Grasses evolved and

were well adapted to the cooler climates of the late Cenozoic. Horses and other species of grazing

animals evolved and ate the newly-evolved grass. Human-like creatures called hominids appear

during in the fossil record of this era. Thousands of fossils of hominids have been found. Fossils of

hominids that are very similar to modern humans have also been found. The very last part of the

Cenozoic was a remarkable period. It is known as the Pleistocene Epoch.

The Pleistocene Epoch: The Ice Ages

It was during the Pleistocene, which began about 2.6 million years ago, that the most recent

episodes of global cooling took place. Much of the world's middle latitude zones were covered by

glaciers during cool periods, uncovered during the warmer periods when the glaciers retreated, and

then recovered by glaciers again. This happened four times. For this reason, the term Ice Ages is

more appropriate than Ice Age.

Plant and animal life at this time were extremely similar to modern ones. Many species of the

Pleistocene Epoch survive to this day: plants, insects, birds, and mammals. Yet the Pleistocene was

also characterized by the presence of distinctive large land mammals and birds. Mammoths and

their cousins the mastodons, long-horned bison, saber-toothed cats, giant ground sloths, and many

other large mammals characterized Pleistocene habitats in North America, Asia, and Europe. Native

horses and camels galloped across the plains of North America. Great birds with 25-foot wingspans

stalked prey. Around the end of the Pleistocene, all these giant creatures became extinct.

The Pleistocene also saw the appearance and expansion of our own species, Homo sapiens. By the

close of the Pleistocene, humans had spread through most of the world. According to a

controversial theory first proposed in the 1960s, humans hunting around the close of the

Pleistocene caused or contributed to the extinction of many of the Pleistocene large mammals. It is

true that the extinction of large animals on different continents appears to correlate with the arrival

of humans, but questions remain as to whether early human hunters were sufficiently numerous

and technologically advanced enough to wipe out whole species. It has also been hypothesized that

some disease wiped out species after species in the Pleistocene. The issue remains unsolved;

perhaps the real cause of the Pleistocene extinction was a combination of these factors. In any case,

human history on Earth begins in during the Pleistocene.

Foundations of Social Studies HISTORY

INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS

What are Indigenous Populations?

The term “indigenous populations” is so difficult to understand that even the United Nations has

had trouble producing on a simple definition. Basically it refers to the people who were the original

inhabitants of a place. That is, the people who were there first are the indigenous population.

Everyone who comes after is an invader, a conqueror, or an immigrant.

Almost all places on the earth have been explored, invaded, settled, or conquered by people from

somewhere else, from the outside. The indigenous people, the natives, usually become a minority.

The people from “somewhere else” become the dominant population because, as conquerors or

invaders, they had better weapons or were more organized. This means that indigenous people who

still live in the places where their ancestors lived are uncommon.

Most people agree that there are certain characteristics of all indigenous people besides having

been the first human inhabitants of place. These include:

they are a minority in their own country

they consider themselves to be different than that majority population (the

conquerors/invaders/immigrants)

they have a distinct language, religion, culture, and ancestry from the majority population

they recognize a specific region, or place, as their homeland – the place where they are from

– and relatives still live there (or nearby)

they are determined to preserve their ancestral ways and homeland and pass it on to future

generations.

Some indigenous populations have completely disappeared. They are now extinct. The term

“extinct” sounds like the way we refer to a species of animals, but indigenous populations have

become extinct when their culture and society has completely disappeared as their population has

blended with that of the new settlers. We know about the indigenous culture only from

archaeological or historical records.

Where are Indigenous Populations?

Every place on earth was originally settled by humans who came from outside the region. Originally,

these regions were uninhabited by humans. The first settlers became the indigenous populations.

Another word for this is the aboriginal inhabitants. “Aborigine” means the “very first people” to live

somewhere. In most places in the world the aborigines, or the indigenous people, are long gone.

But there are some places where they remain in small pockets.

There are more than 370 million indigenous people in the world and they are located in 70 different

countries and on every inhabited continent. Still, there are around 130 countries that do not have

any people in them who identify as “aboriginals” or “indigenous people.” The largest numbers of

indigenous peoples are in Asia and the Pacific Ocean. Approximately 70% of all indigenous people

are located in these two regions.

Most of the indigenous people who still live in their ancestral homelands are located in remote

locations which are very difficult to access using roads or other modern means of transportation.

They are often located in rugged mountainous regions, the interiors of deserts, tropical jungles, or

Polar Regions in the far north. Other aboriginal populations live on lands that have been reserved

for them (usually called “reservations”) by modern governments.

What Threats do Indigenous Peoples Face?

Perhaps the biggest threat that indigenous people across the globe face is that of losing their

identity. The languages, cultures, and traditional knowledge of these populations are threatened by

the spread of global culture. As younger generations of a traditional population learn new

languages, adopt new religions, and practice new cultural traditions, the indigenous culture begins

to disappear. This is the way that indigenous populations disappear. In some ways this is an

unavoidable issue, but it is still a concern of many people.

Additionally, indigenous people suffer discrimination, powerlessness, and conflict. For example, in

many countries, the indigenous people have no political representation because of their small

numbers they are unable to elect representatives in the government. The descendants of the

invading or conquering settlers are not concerned with the issues faced by the original inhabitants

and may even discriminate against them. In almost every country on earth, the indigenous people

are much poorer on average than the majority populations. In some cases the indigenous people

may even be under actual attack by conquering populations. This was much more common in the

past as many areas of the world were still being explored, but it still occurs in some remote areas of

the planet today.

National governments and the United Nations organization are beginning to recognize the loss of

indigenous populations as a serious issue and are working on ways to help preserve the culture and

knowledge of the original people. They are also helping the descendants of the original inhabitants

to find jobs in the modern economy to relieve the problems of poverty. It is very difficult to do this

because the more a part of modern society that an indigenous population becomes, the more of the

culture and heritage is threatened to be lost in the next generations.

Some governments around the world have issued formal apologies for the treatment that

indigenous people received in the past. They have tried to provide money and other support to

indigenous communities. In 2007 the United Nations adopted a Declaration on the Rights of

Indigenous Peoples, which is a document which explains the importance of preserving the heritage

of indigenous people and supporting their rights in modern society. However, not all people agree

that it is critical to protect the heritage of ancient societies. Change and development are a natural

part of history and cultural growth, they would argue, and indigenous people today should adapt

and change the way that people have for centuries.

Foundations of Social Studies HISTORY

HISTORIC NATIVE AMERICANS

When Europeans first came to the Americas they were greeted by Native Americans. As they

continued to explore and settle more and more areas they came into contact with many tribes.

They found each tribe to have similarities, and yet to be unique in their own beliefs and cultures.

History

Native Americans have lived in North America since the ice ages when their ancestors crossed from

Siberia into what is today Alaska. Their population eventually spread across the continent and the

culture and languages evolved into the different tribal groups that we know today. In Native

American cultures, men and women had very traditional roles. Men were the warriors and

protectors; they would do the hunting for traditional game such as deer, buffalo, fish and various

birds. The women cared for the children and home and they farmed. Crops that would be grown

would include corn, beans, squash, and melons. They would also gather berries, nuts, herbs and

various fruits and vegetables. Depending on the tribe they would create baskets, pottery and

blankets using berries as a natural dye.

In the 15th century when the Europeans first arrived in America, life began to change for the Native

Americans. At this time items like the horse, new diseases, religions, and ideals were introduced to

their cultures. In the 16th and 17th century many civilizations were made slaves where they died

working as slave labor, or died of diseases to which they were not immune.

For the North American Indians, the 18th and 19th centuries were a period of trying to protect their

lands. When the United States first became a country, people began to look at the idea of

“civilizing” the Natives Americans and assimilating them as American citizens. During the 19th

century our country expanded its territory from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and U.S.

policy towards the Indians began to change. Many different laws were passed during this period

that stated it would be in the best interest to remove the native people to other regions. Some went

as far as to say for the safety and benefit of the Native Americans themselves. These laws and

policies led to many bloody battles, with many lives lost on both sides. Eventually the Native

Americans were forced to leave their traditional lands. Eventually, most Native Americans settled on

reservation lands or assimilated into American society.

Regional Groupings of Native American Tribes

Native American tribes in North America have been broken into nine different regions. This

regionalization of tribes is based on language, cultural elements, and geographic location. Generally

speaking, tribes that were nearer to each other geographically spoke languages which were related.

These tribes also developed similar cultural traits which were often based on available natural

resources, local climates, and shared histories. The tribal groupings are somewhat artificial because

the Native Americans themselves never used these groups and did not create them.

Northeast (Eastern Woodland): These tribes can be broken up into two cultural regions: the

Iroquois Tribes and the Algonquian/Great Lake Tribes. Indians in this region are noted because they

formed a confederacy of tribes, an advanced form of government in which the tribes cooperated.

The Iroquois Confederacy included the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, and Cayuga tribes.

Southeast: This region included the Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek and Natchez tribes. These tribes

were farmers, hunters and fishermen traditionally, and held festivals to celebrate planting and

harvesting. During festivals they played the game of lacrosse.

Great Plains: These native peoples covered a huge area of grassy plains where enormous herds of

buffalo had a great influence on their way of life. They were the Sioux, Mandan, Comanche,

Blackfoot, and Kiowa tribes. The plains tribes were some of the last native peoples to be conquered

by the Americans as they had become excellent horsemen and were very proud of their

independence.

Southwest: Some of the tribes in this region were the Navajo, Hopi, Pueblo and Apache. Many

tribes in this region lived in city-like villages with multi-story, adobe buildings. They were noted for

their use of irrigation and farming.

Great Basin: The historic tribes of this region were the Goshute, Shoshoni, Ute and Paiute tribes.

These peoples were traditionally hunter-gatherers, but turned to farming as the white man began

settling into the region.

California: California had a great number of different tribes. They included the Serrano, Yakut,

Pomo, and Shasta. These tribes were accomplished basket makers and produced reed boats for

transportation and fishing. They were known for their sweat lodges and ceremonies.

Pacific Northwest: The tribes of this region are most well-known for their use of totem poles. They

include the Chinook, Tillamook, Cayuse and Yurok. They held potlatch parties (parties to celebrate

themselves) at which they traded goods with each other. They were also accomplished fishermen

with their seafaring canoes.

Plateau: The Nez Perce, Yakima, Flathead and Blackfoot tribes are knows as the Plateau tribes. The

Native Americans from this area are known for their practice of a “vision quest.” During this

experience they believed that a spirit would appear to the individual on the quest and guide them

to a particular vocation such as hunting, warfare, or becoming a healer (shaman).

Foundations of Social Studies HISTORY

EXPLORATION

Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around an area for the purpose of discovery. It is the

investigation of unknown regions or an organized trip into unfamiliar places. There can be many

different motives for exploration. Sometimes the motive is practical – to find better land or seize

new land. Sometimes the motive is enquiry – what is out there? How can we get there? These

motives have sent explorers to every part of the planet.

Thousands of years ago people knew very little about what existed more than a few miles away

from their homes. They had no need to travel far because they grew their own food and made all

the things they used each day. As civilization developed people had the idea of trading with other

groups of people. This is probably what first led people to explore. The act of exploring new lands

was a dangerous undertaking. It required bravery, planning, the ability to learn and adapt to new

people, places and things.

1100 BCE to 700 BCE. Some of the earliest people to go exploring in search of trading partners were

the Phoenicians. They lived along the Mediterranean coast in the area that is Israel today. They built

ships and explored the whole Mediterranean Sea and began trading throughout the region.

About this same time it is believed that the people living on islands in the Pacific Ocean began

exploring. They were skilled navigators and built canoes to cross the oceans. They carried plants and

animals with them to begin settlements on new islands. There is evidence to show that Polynesians

had reached South America by 1000 CE.

350 BCE to 500 BCE. Alexander the Great was the king of Macedonia (part of Greece today). He was

a great explorer. He and his army explored and conquered a huge area which stretched from Greece

to Egypt and to India. Alexander wanted to increase his influence and spread the Greek culture

throughout Asia.

500 CE to 600 CE. Arab explorers were active at this time. They explored and conquered areas from

Spain, across North Africa and into India in the 6th and 7th centuries CE. There were two main

reasons for their expansion: first, they wanted to spread the religion of Islam; and second, Arab

merchants were looking for new trading partners. They travelled over the desert areas on camels.

Eventually they began crossing Indian Ocean in boats called dhows. They traded silks, spices and

jewels. They also took gold, ivory and slaves from East Africa.

700 CE to 1200 CE. The Vikings were explorers who struck fear into the hearts of the people living in

Europe in the early Middle Ages. They were searching for treasure and slaves as they raided

European villages. The land in Scandinavia was not good for farming so Vikings also crossed the

Atlantic Ocean searching for new lands where they could settle. They are credited with discovering

Iceland, Greenland, and the northern coast of Canada.

1400s -1600s. This period of time is often called the Age of Exploration. Europeans from many

countries made voyages across the sea to explore the Americas. A country could increase its power

and influence by acquiring new lands and territories. There was competition between Portugal,

Spain, Italy, England, France and the Dutch, to explore and claim new lands.

1700s -1800s.This period of time saw a switch from sea voyages to overland expeditions. The focus

became mapping and settling the interior of the Americas. Explorers such as Lewis and Clark, John

C. Fremont, Alexander Mackenzie and Charles Wilkes made the settlement of North America

possible. They provided information about the land, climate, vegetation and native peoples.

Very little was known by Europeans about the interior of Africa until the 1800s. Explorers had

ignored it mainly because it was such a dangerous place. Tropical diseases that could kill humans

were common, as well as dangerous animals, and African tribes who were hostile to outsiders. All

kept the European explorers away. By 1850 there were advances in medicines and weapons that

made it possible for explorers to make their way into all areas of Africa. Explorers followed the

rivers and crossed the deserts and pushed through the jungles to learn all they could about the

continent.

1900s. The Polar regions were some of the last to be explored. These areas have such harsh

climates and dangerous conditions that many early explorers died during expeditions. On April 6,

1909 the first team of explorers reached the North Pole. Robert Perry, a U.S. naval officer, led them.

Mapping the Arctic region, collecting rock samples, and reporting on wildlife were the goals of the

expedition. Because of extreme weather conditions it took many years for explorers to completely

map the area and gather all the information.

Many explorers wanted to be the first to reach the South Pole. Very little was known about

Antarctica- it was a huge land with a harsh climate. On December 14, 1911 a team of Norwegian

explorers led by Roald Amundsen were the first to reach the South Pole. A British team led by

Robert Scott reached the pole on January 17, 1912. The British team was so exhausted and

weakened that none of them returned to their base camp alive. The exploration of Antarctica was a

deadly job. Today countries from all over the world carry on the work of mapping and collecting

scientific data from Antarctica.

New Worlds to Explore

As technologies develop, we are able to explore farther into space and discover new worlds.

The age of space exploration began in 1957, when the Soviet Union launched the first satellite into

orbit around the earth. Since then, there has been an increasing push by nations to explore our

solar system. There are many reasons for this exploration, they include:

Advancing scientific research

Uniting different nations

Developing military and strategic advantages against other countries

Nearly three-quarters of the earth’s surface is covered by water. Underwater exploration requires

specialized equipment and vehicles that can stand the water pressure at great depths. The interest

to explore underwater lies in the possibilities this world holds. Discoveries there might lead to new

medicines. Answers to questions about the geologic history of the planet could be found on the sea

floor. There is still much to be discovered as explorers study and investigate the world beneath the

waves.

Foundations of Social Studies HISTORY

PIONEERS

There have been pioneers in every country and culture on Earth. Pioneers are a necessary part of settling a land. The term pioneer can be used to refer to any of the people in American history that migrated west to take part in settling and developing new areas. The term especially refers to those who were going to settle any territory which had previously not been settled or developed by European or American society. The figure of the pioneer has played a large role in American culture, literature, and folklore. The pioneer is not the only symbolic figure in the settlement of the West, though. Much note is also given to those who ventured west, but did not stay: such as cowboys, mountain men, prospectors, and miners. However, the pioneer alone represents those who went into unexplored territory in search of a new life, looking to establish permanent settlement. History

In 1776, settlement in the United States was confined largely to the far eastern side of the North American continent. But eventually pioneers moved steadily across the central portion of the country, and came to a halt at the edge of the “Great American Desert”. This term was used to describe the grassy plains between the east and the Rocky Mountains. The land being settled before had been forested or was tall grass prairie. Over time, pioneer settlers braved the plains, crossed the Rocky Mountains and settled the western portions of our continent.

Many of the pioneers were farmers. Others moved west wanting to establish a business. There were doctors, blacksmiths, ministers, shop owners, lawyers, veterinarians and many others. They all followed the routes which had been first used by explorers, trappers and traders, miners and prospectors. Land in the west was available and often cheap. New immigrants to the United States could acquire it and establish themselves. Once the territories of the United States had been settled, the era of the early pioneer ended. Some Types of Pioneers in the American West

The Cowboy The first cowboys came from Mexico. They were men who rode on horses and took care of herds of cattle. They were known as vaqueros which is the Spanish word for "cowboys." When the vaqueros moved their cattle north into America to graze, American people watched the vaqueros and began to copy them. With the arrival of railroads and an increased demand for beef, older traditions combined with the need to drive cattle from the ranches to the nearest railheads, often hundreds of miles away. The Mountain Man A mountain man is a trapper and explorer who live in the wilderness. Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through the 1880s. They were important in opening up the various trails allowing Americans in the east to settle the new territories of the west. Wagon trains traveled over roads that were explored and

physically improved by the mountain men and the big fur companies. These trails originally served as their routes for inland fur trading. The Prospector and Miner Prospecting is the physical search for minerals, fossils, or precious metals. In the United States and Canada prospectors were lured by the promise of gold, silver, and other precious minerals. They travelled across the mountains of the American West, carrying picks, shovels and gold pans. The majority of early prospectors had no training and relied mainly on luck to discover deposits. In all cases, the gold rush was sparked by idle prospecting for gold and minerals which, when the prospector was successful, generated 'gold fever' and saw a wave of prospectors comb the countryside. The federal government passed many mining acts to encourage mining of federal lands and develop the US economy. Mining camps formed the first “cities” of the West. The Settler Unlike many of the cowboys, mountain men, and prospectors the settlers moved into the Western United States and stayed. They opened the land to farming, dairying, and ranching. Settlers opened businesses, churches, and established the first schools. The earlier pioneers may have “blazed the trails” but it was the settler who built the towns. Another way that settlers were different was that they often moved west as families. The earlier pioneers had usually been single men.

Challenges of Coming West

For many people, the West seemed to hold the promise of unlimited possibilities. It gave a chance to live an independent life, far from the crowded cities, factories and challenges of the East. For many people, a life in the wide-open landscape of the West seemed the very definition of freedom, even if it was a life that also had many hardships.

People left their families and friends, and many knew it would be a long time, if ever, before they saw them again. The trip was a long, hard and dangerous one. The trail was sometimes rough and often waterless. Raging rivers had to be crossed. All of this was done with horses, oxen or mules pulling all of their earthly belongings and supplies. The Native Americans could also be a threat. They were angry these new settlers were moving onto tribal lands.

Disease proved to be the biggest killer of emigrants in the West. Smallpox, cholera, tuberculosis, diphtheria, typhoid, "mountain fever," and a host of other sicknesses frequently struck down settlers, who had little or no medical expertise. Scurvy, caused by a lack of fresh fruits and vegetables for months at a time, was also commonplace.

Foundations of Social Studies HISTORY

COLONIZATION Colonization is the act of leaving a parent country to form a colony. A colony is a settlement in a

new country formed by people, often in an undeveloped or sparsely inhabited area. The people who

move to the colony intend to form a permanent settlement but still have ties to the parent country.

Colonization in Nature

In nature, different plants, animals, and insects use colonies to build their civilizations. Ants are a

very good example. The ant colony has a social system that helps the ants survive. In ant

civilizations, the queens are the leaders, followed by reproductive females, males and workers (ants

that are female but can’t reproduce). The ants all work together to make sure there is enough food

for all and that all can survive.

When the ant population gets to big to live in the original area, some ants are sent away to a new

location and to set up a colony. The ants that move to the new colony are still loyal to the

civilization. Although they may still work with the original civilization they live separate from them.

This allows the population to grow and expand without depleting the resources available at the

original site.

Other animals and plants colonize as a part of their growth. Some plants colonize by releasing seeds

into the wind that settle in other places. Other plants colonize by spreading their roots out and

sending up new growth in new places. Like many species in nature, humans also colonize.

History of Colonization in the New World

Like the examples seen in nature, the Europeans settled the Americas, what they called the New

World. During the age of exploration, the European continent was becoming very crowded. The

Europeans wanted access to resources that they didn’t have in Europe. They also wanted to spread

their culture and expand into new territories. In order to reach these goals, they sent settlers to the

New World to build colonies.

The Spanish and Portuguese were the first to settle in the New World. They set up settlements in

what is today Latin America. The British and the French were the first to colonize what is the

country of America. The British wanted the tobacco and cotton that grew naturally in the southern

colonies. Eventually, the Americans succeeded in kicking the British out of America during the

Revolutionary War.

In each case, they settled on the coast originally and then moved to the interior. They moved along

rivers and water ways in order to maintain enough resources to help the humans survive. Some of

the early settlements were very successful, while others failed.

Colonization in Utah

Utah was colonized and settled in much the same manner as seen in nature and in the United

States. Brigham Young and the Mormon pioneers felt they were not wanted or safe in the United

States. In 1847, they moved into what became Utah. Once they arrived in Utah they established

themselves in the Salt Lake Valley. Anticipating the arrival of many immigrants to this region with

sparse water resources, they almost immediately began to send groups of people to outlying areas

to establish settlements – colonies - away from their core area in Salt Lake City. The resulting

colonies grew into villages and eventually created strings of predominantly Mormon towns across

the Western United States.

Impacts of Colonization

Colonization has many impacts on culture. Christianity spread in the New World because of

colonization. Most of South America speaks Spanish because the Spanish settled the areas. Brazil

speaks Portuguese because they were settled by the Portuguese. In Utah’s case, the Church of Jesus

Christ of Latter-day Saints was spread through colonization and settlement patterns throughout the

west.

Colonization is often difficult on the indigenous populations. The competition between the groups

of people already living in an area and the new settlers creates conflict. There may be issues about

resources, land ownership, or cultural differences. In most cases, the indigenous groups become

minorities and are dominated politically, economically, and culturally by the colonizers. In many

cases the original population completely disappears.

Foundations of Social Studies HISTORY

TERRITORIES

In the United States territories are political regions that are controlled by the US federal

government. They are different from states. States have certain powers that the federal

government does not have control over, whereas territories do not have that kind of power. As of

2013, the United States has a total of sixteen territorial land holdings. However, some of the land

holdings are small uninhabited islands and some land holdings are also claimed by other countries.

Types of Territories

Not all territories are the same. Although there are a couple of ways territories are classified, there

are two main types: incorporated and unincorporated.

Incorporated territories have the full protection of the United States Constitution. Its

inhabitants are entitled to US citizenship, trial by jury, and other constitutional rights.

Although they were common in the past, today there are no incorporated organized

territories of the United States. The last two territories of this status were Alaska and Hawaii,

and both gained statehood in 1959.

Unincorporated territories are still considered part of the United States by law, but all the

rights and protections of the constitution are only partially applied. Some examples of

unincorporated territories include Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the US Virgin

Islands.

Some territories have a special status known as a US Commonwealth. A commonwealth means that

the territory is self-governing under their own constitution. This means that they are technically

part of the United States, but they also can make their own laws. The two US Commonwealth

territories are Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands.

How do territories become states?

At times the people who live in a territory desire statehood. There are specific steps for a territory

to become a state. First, the people in the territory have to petition the US Congress for permission

to be admitted to the United States as a new state. If Congress choses, they can require the

proposed state to draft a state constitution. At that point, a constitution is created and it is put to a

vote in the proposed state. After Congress reviews the proposed state’s constitution it can approve

the statehood request by passing an “Act of Admission.” When the President signs that act, the

territory becomes a state.

History of territories in the United States

Within a few decades after gaining independence from Great Britain, the United States began to

expand and acquire new land. The first expansion of territory began with the Louisiana Purchase in

1803. In that transaction the United States purchased 828,000 square miles of land from France for

$15,000. That works out to be approximately 3 cents per acre for the Louisiana Territory. The land

acquired from the Louisiana Purchase extends from present day Louisiana all the way north and

west to present day Montana.

The Louisiana Territory was eventually broken up into several smaller territories which all became

states. These are: Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New

Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming.

The United States continued to expand at a rapid pace. The US gained Florida in the decade after

the Louisiana Purchase. In the 1840s Texas was acquired, the US signed an agreement with Britain

for the Oregon Territory, which encompassed much of the North West. The land included in this

territory would become Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, as well as parts of Wyoming and Montana.

After the Mexican-American War, Mexico conceded to the US the territory that would become

Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico. By the 1850s, the United States stretched from sea to sea,

having coasts on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The United States continued to grow. In the 1860s Alaska was purchased from Russia. It was needed

at the time for the refueling of ships. It cost the US government 7.2 million dollars, or two cents per

acre. And in 1900, the United States officially added Hawaii as a territory. Both Alaska and Hawaii

eventually became states.

As the twentieth-century began, the United States entered a new stage of expansion. The US began

to acquire islands in the Pacific Ocean and in the Caribbean Sea. Though the reasons for acquiring

these islands are different, in each case, many of the islands in the Pacific served as strategic bases

during World War II.

In November 2012, sixty-one percent of Puerto Rican voters expressed that they would like to

become the United States’ fifty-first state. Puerto Rico has been a territory of the United States for

about one hundred years. The island has over 3.5 million people and all Puerto Ricans are citizens of

the US. However they live in a territory, not a state, and so they are unable to vote in national

elections and do not receive all the privileges that citizens who live in states do. In order for Puerto

Rico or any other territory to become a state, Congress would have to pass an Act of Admission, and

the President would need to sign it.

Territories Summarized

In short, status as a territory is somewhat like a stepping-stone to statehood. Most states in the

United States today were once parts of territories which were acquired by purchase, war, or

negotiation and eventually applied for statehood. While territories are officially part of the US,

citizens living in those territories do not enjoy all the rights of citizens living in states. While the US

still has territories, applications for statehood seem unlikely at this time.

Foundations of Social Studies HISTORY

MIGRATION

Human migration is movement of humans from one place to another. Sometimes these movements

occur over very long distances. Most experts define migrants as people who have moved to another

area for more than one year. But some migration happens in cycles. The flow of migration always

involves two (or sometimes more) locations. The largest flows of international migrants today are

from Asia to Europe, from Asia to North America, and from Latin America to North America.

Terms Associated with Migration

Emigration is migration from a location. We call the people who do this “emigrants.”

Immigration is migration to a location. We call people who do this “immigrants.

Voluntary migration is when a person or people decide to migrate from one place to

another.

Forced migration or involuntary migration is when a person or people are made to

migrate against their will.

A refugee is a person forced to migrate because they are taking refuge from persecution

in their homeland.

Seasonal workers migrate each season to a different place for work—often on farms.

History

Early humans migrated very frequently in search of food and resources. Many of our earliest human

ancestors followed food sources like animals and plants to different areas. They would hunt, herd or

harvest until these food sources were depleted and they needed to move on to a new area. Such

people are called nomads, and some nomadic people still live today in remote regions of the world.

After humans developed agriculture, nomadism steadily declined. Today migration is less likely to be

caused by a search for food. It is more often caused by cultural, economic or environmental factors.

Causes

People decide to migrate because of pull factors and push factors.

Pull factors draw people to move to a new location.

Push factors lead people to move from their present location.

Some push and pull factors are a function of economics. People might think about emigrating from a

place because it has few job opportunities. Likewise, people might think about immigrating to a

place where there are more jobs available. Valuable natural resources may push or pull people to

migrate as well. These types of factors are called economic push and pull factors.

Cultural push and pull factors can have a strong effect on people's decisions to migrate. Cultural

push and pull factors lead people to migrate based on matters of ethnicity, language, and religion.

These matters in many locations are highly political. Often cultural push and pull factors lead to

forced migration of peoples. Cultural push and pull factors include forced migration as a result of

slavery, ethnic conflict, religious persecution and political instability.

Environmental push and pull factors push people from hazardous areas and attract people to areas

that are safer or more physically attractive. Recently, more and more people have migrated to be

closer to warmer climates, oceans and sea sides, and mountains. Emigrants can be pushed from

their homes by natural disasters or hazards including floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, famines, or

pollution.

Problems

Migration can be very dangerous. This is especially true if a migrant does not have much money or

does not speak the dominant language of the place to which they are immigrating.

Oftentimes people immigrating to a new place find they need to learn a new culture or language in

order to find a job or a place to live. The process of which an immigrant group is required to take on

the language or culture of a dominant group is called cultural assimilation. Cultural assimilation can

occur very quickly or very gradually. It is often very difficult or even traumatic for immigrants.

Future

Most people today migrate for economic reasons. As the world economy globalizes, this trend likely

will increase. In the recent past, most long distance migration was done by males looking for jobs in

new places. Experts thought this happened because these migrants would rather not have risked the

safety of their families in a new country while looking for work. But this is changing. Today more

women than men migrate.

When large numbers of people immigrate, it can cause serious conflicts over jobs and resources.

Because of this, most nations limit the number of immigrants allowed across their borders. But some

push and pull factors are so strong that some people ignore these laws to migrate illegally. In the

United States this has led to political conflicts over legal and illegal immigrants. Legal immigrants are

often called documented residents, and illegal immigrants are called undocumented residents.

Many experts in human migration predict that in the future more and more people will emigrate as

a function of environmental push factors. Many less-developed nations have large population

clusters on or near sea sides. As sea levels continue to raise, these sorts of areas will be more and

difficult to live in. People from those areas will need to decide whether they will stay and adapt to

new environmental conditions, or immigrate to less hazardous areas.

Foundations of Social Studies HISTORY

INFRASTRUCTURE

There are many ways to think about the infrastructure of a community or country. One way is to

consider infrastructure as simply the physical structures and facilities needed for the operation of a

society or enterprise. The infrastructure of a place grows and changes with the needs of society and

developments of new technologies. For example, cell phone towers are part of the communications

infrastructure today. In the past, telegraph lines would have performed a similar function.

To better understand the infrastructure of a place we organize its various parts into categories.

There are four broad categories of infrastructure that are needed to maintain a modern society like

the one in which we live. These are: transportation, communications, energy, and water

management.

Transportation Infrastructure

The transportation infrastructure consists of many parts, but those we use most frequently are

roads. Associated with roads are the bridges and tunnels which allow the roads to crisscross the

landscape and link places together. While roads have been around for centuries, other elements of

the transportation infrastructure are more recent. Canals and canal travel was at its height in the

United States in the 1820s. These were followed by railroads. Canals and railroads are still very

important today as they are used to move products and raw materials around the country. Airports

and modern seaports are also more recent parts of the system of transportation necessary to link a

country to other countries.

Bike paths, mass transit systems (buses, subways, and light rail), and even running trails are growing

in importance as part of the transportation infrastructure of modern cities and developed countries

today. In many less developed countries they are still struggling to build adequate road systems. The

transportation infrastructure in most places in the world is built by and maintained by the

government using tax money collected from the citizens. In the United States, for example, a

portion of the taxes on all gasoline purchases is used to build and maintain roads. In this way, the

people who use the roads help pay the costs of maintaining them. Usually, only a government has

the ability to fund, organize, build, and maintain such large projects as transportation infrastructure.

Communications Infrastructure

The network of centers, devices, wires, and cables used to transmit messages from one place to

another is the communications infrastructure. Today this includes some very high tech components:

satellites, cell phone towers, and television transmission towers, for example. Most of our messages

today are sent electronically - some using physical cables or wires, and some wirelessly. In the past,

however, communications were much more physical. When a physical letter is moved from one

place to another, it is part of the communications infrastructure. In the past a letter could have

been carried by hand, sent by stagecoach or wagon, or sped along the Pony Express. Today, these

methods have been replaced by the Post Office (which is run by the government) and by private

companies such as FedEx and UPS. Electronic messages were sent using the telegraph and then the

telephone through physical wires. Many of those wires have been replaced by fiber optic cables and

satellite transmission. Although governments provide some elements of the communications

infrastructure, it is increasingly common for private companies to build and maintain their own

systems of communication and provide access to them at a cost to people who want to purchase it.

Energy Infrastructure

The electricity infrastructure is made up of long-distance power lines which move electricity from

areas where it is generated - like coal plants, hydroelectric dams, and wind or solar farms – to

communities. The distribution lines that connect homes and businesses to this grid are also part of

the infrastructure. Of course, the power plants themselves, as well as the trucks, roads, and

buildings associated with them, are also part of this system.

Oil and natural gas are also part of the energy infrastructure. The wells, pipelines, and refineries

associated with them create a huge network of moving energy across developed countries. Oil and

natural gas are often found in places very distant from the places where they are needed –

sometimes in a different country. Ships and international pipelines may be needed to move these

products across oceans or whole continents.

The energy infrastructure may be built and run by the government or by private companies. In the

case of electricity, it is most often owned by the government. In the case of oil and gas, private

companies play a much bigger part in the energy infrastructure as they may drill their own well,

build their own pipelines, and have their own refineries.

Water Management Infrastructure

The water management infrastructure is fairly easy to understand. It has only two parts: the public

water supply and wastewater treatment. The public water supply is used by all of us every single

day. This is the clean drinking water that we have in our homes and businesses. It is sometimes

called “culinary water” because we cook with it. Although we might not think about it as much, the

irrigation water that is used to water crops is also part of the public water supply. It may or may not

be clean enough to drink and cook with. Wastewater treatment refers to sewer systems and

drainage.

There are many parts to the system of water supply and management infrastructure. Some of these

exist to manage the water before it gets to the user: wells, dams, reservoirs, canals, pumping

stations, pipelines, water treatment facilities, holding tanks are examples. Some of them are part of

the system to manage water after it has been used by the population. These include sewer drains

and pipes, street drains and runoff canals, and sewer treatment plants. There is both government-

owned and operated and privately-owned water management but in the United States the

government provides by far largest amount of water management infrastructure.

Foundations of Social Studies HISTORY

HIGHWAYS AND THE INTERSTATE SYSTEM

The Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways is the formal name for the system of interstates (commonly called freeways and highways) that connect American cities and states today.

History

With the invention of the automobile life changed for all Americans. Mail and freight moved faster, buying and selling products was quicker and easier, and traveling - even in bad weather - was possible. America needed roads that could keep up with the needs of this new phase of life and business. People wanted hard, smooth and lasting roads, not the dusty, muddy tracks that were the roads of the time. The idea of a transcontinental road for automobiles was first introduced in 1912.

The Lincoln Highway Association began in 1913. It was formed by a group of businessmen and community leaders who saw the need for a system of highways crossing the country. This group faced many problems as they tried to plan for a system of roads to cross the country. Every state had its own ideas about where the roads should be and they did not always match up. By 1925 it had created and named over 250 highways from New York to San Francisco. Because of the lack of coordination between the states there was a lot of confusion about the roads and their routes.

The need for a single, unified system of highways became obvious in the 1920s. The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1938 three east-west and three north-south routes that would be toll roads. A toll road is a road that a driver pays a fee to use. It was decided this would not really serve the needs of the nation. A network of 26,000 miles of divided highways would work better for the country. By 1944, highways were expanded to 40,000 miles of roads and the Department of Defense began planning nationwide routes. There was no plan about how to pay for the roads and the work progressed slowly.

The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 was able to provide the funding and work out the other problems associated with building the interstates. The Act of 1956 set up the standards for the highways, it said that each should include:

a minimum of two lanes in each direction.

lanes had to be twelve feet in length.

a ten- foot wide paved shoulder.

designed for speeds of 50-70 mph.

Each highway in the country is named using the same system. Major routes use a single or two-digit number. If the route runs north-south it is given an odd number, if a route runs east-west is has an even number.

Fun Facts About the Interstate Highway System

It contains almost 47,000 miles of road.

It is comprised of 300 million cubic yards of concrete.

The system includes fifty-five thousand bridges.

I-93 now travels under the city of Boston. It cost about $22 billion and is called the “Big Dig.”

A causeway carries I-10 for 18 miles across the Atchafalaya Swamp in Louisiana.

The five longest Interstate routes, each more than 2, 000 miles, are east-west routes. These are:

1. I-90: 3,101.13 miles, from Seattle, Washington, to Boston, Massachusetts. 2. I-80: 2,899.54 miles, from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey. 3. I-40: 2,555.40 miles, from Barstow, California, to Wilmington, North Carolina. 4. I-10: 2,460.34 miles, from Los Angeles, California to Jacksonville, Florida. 5. I-70: 2,153.13 miles, from Cove Fort, Utah, to Baltimore, Maryland.

Problems and Benefits

The highway system is very big and very expensive. Construction and repair projects are constant and they cause traffic problems. Many people complain, but they enjoy the improved roads. The chosen routes of the interstates means that many small towns have been bypassed and their economies and populations are shrinking. Some neighborhoods have been carved up as roads have been built to connect to the interstates and highways.

The interstates and highways link our communities together across the country. It is fast, easy and relatively safe to travel long distances in comfort. All kinds of businesses use the highway system to get their products to markets. Americans rely on the highways to get where they want to go. They are a part of everyday life, one that is sometimes not noticed, but vial to our way of life. Our Interstate system is the envy of many countries all over the world, which lack good road systems.